As millions of South Africans turn to dating apps like Tinder, Hinge and eHarmony this Valentine’s Day, law enforcement and cyber security experts are warning of a sophisticated new wave of AI-driven "pig butchering" scams.
The warning follows Operation Contender 3.0, a massive Interpol-led sting that resulted in 260 arrests across 14 African countries, including SA.
According to official reports, the operation exposed a transnational network of fraudsters who used fake identities and emotional manipulation to extract millions from victims across the continent.
Data released by researchers for 2026 highlights the staggering scale of the threat. Globally, AI-enabled crypto-currency scams are often referred to as "pig butchering" because they "fatten up" victims with trust before "slaughtering" them, leaving them drained of their money.
While the threat is global, SA has become a prime target for these syndicates. Findings from LexisNexis Risk Solutions indicate that approximately 80% of identity scams now incorporate deepfake technology, such as video overlays or image manipulation.
"Romance scams are surging across Africa as social media and AI make it increasingly easy for fraudsters to operate at massive scale," said Jason Lane-Sellers, director of fraud and identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
Lane-Sellers noted that scammers are now utilising real-time deepfake overlays during live video calls to trick victims into believing they are speaking to a real person.
According to Lane-Sellers, these criminal groups operate like businesses, performing "market assessments" to plan targeted scams. While romance scams predominantly target middle-aged or recently divorced individuals, younger South Africans are reportedly being targeted with fake investment and job scams.
Platform migration scammers
Based on the research provided by BrokerChooser and LexisNexis, users are urged to watch for platform migration scammers who reportedly attempt to move conversations off dating apps to encrypted platforms like Telegram or WhatsApp almost immediately.
Deepfake visuals experts warn users to be wary of video calls that seem "glitchy", as scammers may harvest genuine social media images and use AI to map them onto live video. Research indicates that once emotional trust is established, scammers often deploy pressure tactics, using "urgent" opportunities to cloud a victim's judgment.
Balazs Faluvegi, senior analyst at BrokerChooser, described the scam as a "long-term fraud" that intertwines romance with fake investment schemes.
“The scam works by creating a false sense of intimacy, gradually building trust and attention," Faluvegi stated.
The true scale of the problem in SA may be far higher than official statistics suggest. Lane-Sellers noted that victim underreporting is severe, with only an estimated 7%-10% of victims coming forward due to the personal nature of the crime.
As law enforcement continues to strike back through regional co-operation, experts warn that the transnational structure of these organisations, where accounts may be set up in SA while calls originate from Nigeria, remains a significant challenge for authorities.
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